PSYCH Lecture 6 notes (pt 1)

Developmental Psychology: Bonding with Others

Overview

  • Continuing lecture on developmental psychology, focusing on social and emotional development.

  • Key focus area: attachment and how it evolves across the lifespan.

  • Connection to previous content discussing changes in thinking as we age.

Key Concepts

  • Attachment

    • Defined as a motivational system that regulates social proximity, important in both childhood and adulthood.

    • Influences how individuals connect with caregivers and significant others throughout their lives.

Learning Objectives

  • Define John Bowlby's attachment behavioral system.

  • Describe Harry Harlow's research with primates regarding attachment.

  • Explain the Strange Situation Test designed by Mary Ainsworth and identify various infant attachment styles.

  • Behavioral implications of attachment styles in childhood and adulthood.

Attachment Behavioral System

  • Originated by John Bowlby in the late 1960s, emphasizing human beings’ motivators for social connections.

  • Includes:

    • Motivation for Proximity: Infants and adults are motivated to seek closeness with attachment figures (e.g., parents, caregivers).

    • Effects of Separation: Bowlby noted that infants go to great lengths to avoid separation from caregivers, showcasing attachment's survival value.

Bowlby’s Observations

  • Infants vocalize and cry when a caregiver leaves the room.

  • As infants develop mobility, they use it to pursue their caregivers actively, demonstrating the "invisible rope" of attachment.

  • Bowlby connected attachment needs to both emotional and physical security.

Harlow's Research

  • Harry Harlow's experiments with monkeys aimed to explore attachment's nature—whether driven by comfort or basic needs like food.

  • Key Findings:

    • Monkeys preferred soft, cloth mothers (providing comfort) over wire mothers (providing food).

    • Spending minimal time with the wire mother indicates emotional attachment is not primarily about satisfying hunger but relates to a need for comfort and security.

Experimental Setup

  • The experiment contrasted two types of "mothers":

    • Wire Mother: Offers food but lacks comfort.

    • Cloth Mother: Provides warmth and security but no food.

  • Results showed monkeys predominantly clung to the cloth mother, especially when frightened, highlighting the significance of comfort.

The Strange Situation Test

  • Developed by Mary Ainsworth as a standardized way to assess attachment quality in children.

  • Procedure involves observing a child's behavior in a stressful scenario where they are briefly separated from their caregiver.

  • Key Observations:

    • Willingness to explore.

    • Reaction to caregiver's departure (level of distress).

    • Interaction with a stranger.

    • Response upon reunion with the caregiver.

Attachment Styles Identified

  1. Secure Attachment

    • Child explores the room, shows distress upon separation, and is easily comforted upon reunion.

    • About 60-70% of children display this pattern.

  2. Resistant (Ambivalent) Attachment

    • Child shows reluctance to explore, high distress when separated, and anger or resistance when caregiver returns.

    • Roughly 10% demonstrate this pattern.

  3. Avoidant Attachment

    • Child demonstrates low distress when separated, avoids interaction with the caregiver upon return.

    • Indicates a low need for emotional connection.

  4. Disorganized Attachment

    • Children display inconsistent behavior patterns and mixed responses upon caregiver's return.

    • Can show different attachment styles toward different figures (ex: mom vs. dad).

Development and Attachment

  • Attachment styles can predict future behavior in social relationships, including romantic connections.

  • Secure attachment correlates positively with responsive caregiving.

  • Anxious attachments indicate lower responsiveness or inconsistent parenting styles.

Cause vs. Consequence Debate

  • Researchers investigate if attachment style is caused by early experiences with caregivers or if it's shaped by the child’s predispositions.

  • Studies like Grossman et al. (1985) show that secure attachments correlate with responsive parenting behaviors early in life, suggesting a consequence relationship.

  • Vanden Boom (1994) conducted interventions that trained parents, resulting in higher rates of secure attachments, further supporting that parenting can shape attachment styles.

Implications

  • Understanding attachment can provide insight into later emotional and social development.

  • Securely attached children tend to become more socially competent, self-sufficient, and resilient adults.